^you need to keep in mind that there are many people here who neither have work nor attent education ( seniors, kids, unemployed, maternity leave, ill, etc ect ) so that 35% is something that should be taken with a grain of salt as it is not 35% of the municipal population but of the ~340.000 who either studies or work ( that would make it 22% )
( even less if it doesn not include worker and students who leave the municipal to work or study as many does )

Add to that that most of the work force and roughly half of teh students comes from outside the municipal - so the actual percentage overall can be very small when that 22% is drowed by around 5-700.000 others who travels about in the municipal doing the day...

It's not really something we have to drag on - I have already taken way too much space in this thread that I basically have nothing to do in... just please take such figures with a grain of salt - Danes like to bike but as all can see using Google Maps and Google streetview it's a suburban city where - as stats show, as well as the human eye - cars rules the streets here..

Alternatively give my photothreads a chance - it should be the largest collection of CPH pictures online

^you need to keep in mind that there are many people here who neither have work nor attent education....

Yes, I think that we would all agree that commuting modal share does not tell the complete story. But it is a common measurement that is used by cities around the world. So when comparing cities around the world it is very useful.

Your comments about commuters from other regions also applies to Vancouver.

The point of this discussion was to establish a best practices benchmark by which we could compare Vancouver. I think we have come to agreement that Copenhagen's 37% cycling commuter modal share is a fair measurement equivalent to compare to Vancouver's 4% (which is also commuter modal share).

Actually looking at it again the main problem with the comparison is that Vancouver's number is 5 years old and doesn't seem to be updated.

In a city where bicycle paths are separated from traffic, racks are accessible, cycling routes are connected, and the way from home to work is smooth and flat, more people may actually want to ride their bikes.

And if more people bike rather than drive, they will be much healthier, and the city much greener.

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PHOTOS
What "bikeability" looks like in metro Vancouver
That is the argument that a team of University of British Columbia researchers are presenting with the Bikeability Index, an innovative mapping tool that scores Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods on how accommodating they are to cyclists. According to the study, the way communities are designed directly influences people’s level of physical activity.

“If you make cycling and walking the easier choice, then people will be more likely to choose it because it’s faster to get [somewhere] than sitting in traffic,” said lead researcher Meghan Winters. “Then people will be less likely to choose their cars, they’ll be more likely to engage in physical activity, and that will reduce congestion in the city.”

The project, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation, surveyed 2,100 people about factors that influence their cycling behaviour, Ms. Winters said. Most answered they are concerned about biking next to cars, biking up and down hills, the availability of racks to lock up their bikes, and the connectivity of bike-friendly streets.

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The maps can be viewed at www.cher.ubc/ca/cyclingincities/tools.html. Cyclists can also search for routes based on preferred distances, air pollution levels and elevation gain. Future renderings will also allow users to click and zoom on the maps.

Port Coquitlam's Traboulay Trail is top notch. My wife and I have been cycling and walking lots since moving here, drastically reducing our car use which is at a high 141,000km for a 2007 model.

The next major cycling network improvement I want to see is a connection of the Central Valley Greenway to Coquitlam/Port Coquitlam with a good solid connection to the new cycling path on the new Port Mann Bridge. Cycling from Port Coquitlam to Vancouver is quite easy, with the exception of having to use Lougheed Hwy east of Cape Horn which is quite poor for cycling.

Port Coquitlam's Traboulay Trail is top notch. My wife and I have been cycling and walking lots since moving here, drastically reducing our car use which is at a high 141,000km for a 2007 model.

The next major cycling network improvement I want to see is a connection of the Central Valley Greenway to Coquitlam/Port Coquitlam with a good solid connection to the new cycling path on the new Port Mann Bridge. Cycling from Port Coquitlam to Vancouver is quite easy, with the exception of having to use Lougheed Hwy east of Cape Horn which is quite poor for cycling.

I gotta say... I bought an el-cheapo folding Canadian Tire Bike and although it's geared kinda low (read: slow on the flats) I'm loving the CVG. It'll be nice when [if] Burnaby makes a separate path on Winston.

I snapped this Wednesday afternoon, just at the cusp of rush hour. Please note the gentleman at the head of the group who has his kid on board. What the photo didn't quite capture was the second kid up front in a handlebar child seat. Before the separated bicycle lanes were installed I never saw a parent bring their kids downtown by bicycle, save for leisure trips on the Seawall. What the separated bicycle lanes have essentially done is Seawall-ize two routes in the downtown core and make them safe enough for parents to even consider riding with their kids. Incidentally, this spring and summer I've begun to see kids on their own bicycles accompanying their parents on the separated bicycle routes.

I snapped this Wednesday afternoon, just at the cusp of rush hour. Please note the gentleman at the head of the group who has his kid on board. What the photo didn't quite capture was the second kid up front in a handlebar child seat. Before the separated bicycle lanes were installed I never saw a parent bring their kids downtown by bicycle, save for leisure trips on the Seawall. What the separated bicycle lanes have essentially done is Seawall-ize two routes in the downtown core and make them safe enough for parents to even consider riding with their kids. Incidentally, this spring and summer I've begun to see kids on their own bicycles accompanying their parents on the separated bicycle routes.

Taken by SFUVancouver, July 13th 2011.

And that's a good thing? The downtown core (or central business district) is, above all, a place of business and commerce; a place to create economic opportunities, run a business and make a living. The city already has many places of leisure where parents and children can go cycling. There is the actual Seawall, and there are a multitude of parks, playgrounds, riding paths and quiet residential streets. As the city's own study shows, by "seawall-izing" or "playground-izing" parts of what is supposed to be a dynamic centre of commerce, we are making it that much more difficult for some businesses to thrive and are thus reducing economic opportunity in the heart of our city.

And that's a good thing? The downtown core (or central business district) is, above all, a place of business and commerce; a place to create economic opportunities, run a business and make a living. The city already has many places of leisure where parents and children can go cycling. There is the actual Seawall, and there are a multitude of parks, playgrounds, riding paths and quiet residential streets. As the city's own study shows, by "seawall-izing" or "playground-izing" parts of what is supposed to be a dynamic centre of commerce, we are making it that much more difficult for some businesses to thrive and are thus reducing economic opportunity in our city.

Is this trend good for the future of Vancouver?

Defiantly good for Vancouver, the negative economic impact on the business that lost a couple parking spaces is relatively insignificant and easily off set by more people coming downtown and spending money. Not to mention that improvements to cycling and pedestrian infrastructure makes downtown more livable attracting more people to live downtown and those people positively contribute to the economy in a very significant way.

In any event the separated bike lanes only impact a couple minor streets downtown and I don't think a couple lost parking spaces is anything to cry over.

Downtown Vancouver is not the place to bring your car, so do yourself a favor and take transit, cycle or walk.

The downtown core (or central business district) is, above all, a place of business and commerce; a place to create economic opportunities, run a business and make a living.

You can apply all sorts of analyses to the bike lanes. If you are going to look at downtown as a strategic long term economic engine for the region, if not the province, the negative impact are mainly to businesses that are, like it or not, marginal to that vision.

-Small businesses with tight profit margins, that are heavily impacted by even small changes in sales
-Hotels, which often see a need for loading zones in front as well as delivery access, either by alleyways or from the street
-Hair salons, especially those with elderly clients that prefer on-street parking near the entrance of the business
-Businesses with takeout service

aside from hotels, these businesses to these limited areas are not ones that will impact the long-term future for downtown as an economic engine. and even hotels may change with time - we wanted to build new ones by the new BC place, and the coast on denman is retrofitting to apartments.

obviously, i am purposely ignoring the toll on the owners of the business and the effect it may have the existing neighbourhood. but businesses may adapt, or they may be replaced by ones for that niche. neighbourhoods always evolve.

I see parallels with canada line/cambie village on this one. construction was a mess, some businesses folded, but 2 years later the village continues on, in a new form. You can even see this on a smaller scale, with much different consequences on the carrall st bike lane.

And that's a good thing? The downtown core (or central business district) is, above all, a place of business and commerce; a place to create economic opportunities, run a business and make a living. The city already has many places of leisure where parents and children can go cycling. There is the actual Seawall, and there are a multitude of parks, playgrounds, riding paths and quiet residential streets. As the city's own study shows, by "seawall-izing" or "playground-izing" parts of what is supposed to be a dynamic centre of commerce, we are making it that much more difficult for some businesses to thrive and are thus reducing economic opportunity in the heart of our city.

Is this trend good for the future of Vancouver?

Huh. Bike lanes are proven to attract the dynamic young workers needed in innovative businesses. These people have many choices and decide where to work based on the lifestyle that a city has to ofter. Bike paths are a big part of that. Even though the bike lanes (or loss of parking to be specific) have some impact on some car dependent businesses, it is pretty obvious that these are good for the overall economy of Vancouver. Even if some people don't shop on Hornby, they will shop somewhere else in the city so there is really no negative impact to the overall economy.

I think for the most part it is. If a few businesses go bust because of a slight disruption to the streetscape that is really not a big deal. New businesses will take their place who can adapt to the new reality of downtown. Losing a couple of low margin small businesses is not a major issue, they probably shouldnt have been located DT anyway if their margins were so thin they could be shuttered by a couple of bikelanes.

If DT starts to have economic impacts to a greater extent that effect larger businesses who need downtown and who downtown needs then I will start to have some concerns but I dont think that has even come close to happening, and I dont forsee a few bikelanes having that marked of an impact. Its possible they will even have a positive impact on employers who are attracted by the ease of getting into the city by alternate means.

The city already has many places of leisure where parents and children can go cycling. There is the actual Seawall...

And, pray tell, how are cyclists with young children supposed to get to the seawall?

Your objections make no sense to me. If we barred everyone except workers from using the downtown transportation infrastructure then there would be no shops, no art galleries, no theatres, etc. etc. etc. Downtown is not just a place of business, Vancouver has succeeded in making it a thriving residential and entertainment district as well.